Secrets
by FadedPromise
Summary: Warning: Spoilers for every episode through 0505. Who was that at the window and outside the workshop? Lucien and Jean are thrust into a dangerous confrontation with the Intelligence community after receiving a visit from an old acquaintance. AU since 0506 has aired.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: This takes place a few days after the end of episode 0505. I wanted to explore some of the dangling plot points and also give our favorite couple a way forward. I hesitated to share it here because I finished it so late so that it's already AU, but I wasn't all that happy with 0506, so here it is. As usual, I don't own DBM, and I apologize for anything glaringly non-Australian in the language._

Lucien was glad to be out of that bloody hospital He hadn't exaggerated about being a thoroughly dreadful patient He was certain the staff were as happy to see the back of him as he was to be done with them.

Now, finally, he was home. Through his bedroom window he could hear Jean humming to herself as she worked in the garden. Although the sound lifted his heart, he also figured it was as good a time as any to sneak into his study and catch up on paperwork.

He cursed under his breath as the movement to slide his arms into his dressing gown strained the still-tender muscles along his ribcage. A quick look down told him he hadn't ruptured the stitches (yet again), so he fastened the robe's tie and slid his feet into slippers. He ran his fingers through his hair but knew the gesture was hopeless without Brylcreem to tame it. He supposed he needed a haircut anyway, along with a trim for his beard. In his present state he'd probably scare off his patients.

After a quick side trip to use the bathroom, he stopped in the kitchen long enough to nick a square of shortbread, then proceeded on to his study. He didn't bother closing the door, since Jean would come looking for him here anyway if she saw his bedroom was empty.

The pile of correspondence on his desk was daunting, so he sorted it by priority then started opening the most urgent ones. Invoices, payments, inquiries, speaking requests, nothing out of the ordinary but all requiring his attention. Jean would handle a lot of it for him, once he'd separated out what he needed to deal with himself.

A movement in the doorway startled him enough to look up, thinking Jean had busted him, but it was Sergeant Robert Hannam that slipped in and pulled the door closed behind him. The man who should be in prison for murdering Inspector Sullivan in cold blood right in front of Lucien, Charlie and Frank Carlyle.

Schooling his expression not to give anything away, Lucien nodded to his unexpected visitor. "Sergeant."

Hannam met his eye. "I wasn't here," he announced. "Understood?"

"Of course you weren't," Lucien agreed amiably. "But if you had been here, what could I have done for you?"

"I owe you," said Hannam.

"For?"

"For my part in Major Alderton's scheme to blackmail you."

"I see," said Lucien.

Hannam blinked. "No, you don't, but a word of advice anyway. Someone is watching you."

"Is that right?"

"They're listening in on your phone calls again. Or maybe they never stopped. They want to get to you. Your daughter and her child are in danger. And your wife, well, all is not what it seems there."

Lucien narrowed his eyes. "It was you, wasn't it? Jean saw you through the window. And you were in the doorway after I was stabbed."

Hannam only offered a half-smile. "See to your family, Major. And remember, I was never here."

"But what about…" Lucien began, but Hannam slipped out just as quickly as he'd entered.

* * *

He had retrieved the box that held all recent correspondence with Mei Lin and was reviewing it when Jean found him.

"Lucien, you know you're…" She stopped, noting his somber expression. "What? Did something happen?"

"I've had a visitor," he told her grimly.

"That's impossible. I was tending the flowers right by the door."

"It was Sergeant Hannam."

That was all the explanation Jean needed. "I see. He isn't in prison, obviously."

"No, and I'm guessing he's still with Army Intelligence."

Jean slipped into one of the chairs across the desk from her fiancé. "What did he want?" she asked, knowing it couldn't be good news.

"He said he owed me for his part in Derek's scheme to blackmail me. He wanted to pass on information. Specifically, that our phone calls are being monitored. He also said Li and the little one may be in trouble. Something is going on with Mei Lin as well."

"Such as?"

"I don't know. He just said all was not as it seemed. Then he left before I could get anything else out of him. That's why I'm going through her letters, to see if there's anything not quite right."

"Have you found anything?"

"Not really."

"I've noticed something about them," Jean admitted. "I wasn't going to mention it but it did seem odd to me."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Ever since Mei Lin arrived in Hong Kong, Li doesn't write to you any more. She used to, but now she only passes news through Mel Lin. I had thought the two of you were getting closer, but now…" She shrugged.

"I thought maybe she… But no, you're quite right. Something is off about that." He stopped to think for a moment. "Jean, I'm afraid I may need to go to Hong Kong to get to the bottom of this."

Jean's mouth fell open. Did this man even think sometimes? "You'll do no such thing," she said firmly. "Look at you, Lucien. You can barely walk. You couldn't manage a ride to the airport, much less that flight."

"Jean, this is my family!"

"Yes it is. And killing yourself won't help them one bit. Not to mention, if someone _is_ monitoring your phone calls, don't you think they'd find out when you tried to fly to Hong Kong? You could well be putting them in more danger!"

Lucien slumped in his chair, feeling defeated. He hated being an invalid. It reminded him too much of his recuperation after the liberation of the camp. If he were healthy now, he could probably manage to reach Hong Kong without being followed, but in his present condition that was out of the question.

"I have to get in touch with them," he murmured.

"If the phone is being monitored, I'm sure your letters are being intercepted again too. Do you know anyone else in Hong Kong? Someone who could check on them? Maybe you can ask Frank Carlyle for his contacts," Jean suggested.

Lucien shook his head. "According to Matthew, Frank is busy fighting to stay out of prison."

"Oh!" Jean was shocked. She had liked Frank.

"Yes. It seems his gambling debts were more of a problem than he let on."

"I'm sorry to hear that, the poor man. Well, then, I guess it wouldn't do to ask him." She thought for a moment.

She'd get Matthew to handcuff Lucien to his bed, if that's what it took to keep him from attempting such an impossible trip, but it would be easier to help him find a way around the problem. "What about Joy McDonald's friend? The one that found Li for you. Wasn't he based in Hong Kong? Do you have any way to get in touch with him?"

Lucien tilted his head to the side, thinking. "It's possible. If the telegram from him is still around here somewhere."

"In your box with Mr. Kim's letters. I put it there when I found it after you'd left for Shanghai."

"Jean, you are a treasure," he told her. He leaned forward, intending to give her a kiss, but his sore ribs had other ideas. He hissed in pain.

"You see? And you thought you could manage a flight to Hong Kong." She shook her head. "Now back to bed with you while I find that telegram. And if you take a nap, I may just let you come to the table for supper." Sometimes he acted like a child, and when he did she would treat him that way.

* * *

Matthew grinned when he saw Lucien shuffle to the table and sit down rather gingerly. "Must have behaved yourself today if Jean let you out of bed."

"Well…" Lucien began, glancing over at Jean.

She took her place beside him. "Yes, well, it's been an interesting day."

"Oh?"

They had discussed it earlier and decided they could use Matthew's advice in the matter. Charlie was still on duty so it was the perfect time.

"Yesss. An unexpected visitor. I don't suppose you know anyone in Hong Kong?" Lucien brought him up to date on their history with Robert Hannam and his connection to the business with Mei Lin, then what Hannam had said on his latest visit.

"Monitoring your telephone? Someone has a lot of pull," Matthew observed. "No, I'm afraid I don't have contacts in Hong Kong unless you want me to go through official channels, which I'm guessing you don't."

"Hardly," said Jean.

"We need a way to get a message to someone there," said Lucien. "Someone who can check on Mei Lin and Li for us without alerting… certain authorities."

"So, a go-between. Maybe I can help after all," said Matthew.

"Oh?"

"My sister, Vera. Rose's mum. In Melbourne. I can either write her or call her from the station, whichever you need."

"Can you be sure the phones at the station aren't being monitored as well?" asked Jean.

Matthew nodded. "Unlikely, but I know someone at the telephone exchange who can verify it for me before we start. I'll tell her we're worried a crime syndicate has been listening in."

"Good, as long as she can keep it quiet," said Lucien.

"She can," Matthew confirmed. "So what do I tell Vera?"

"As little as possible. The less she knows, the less of a threat she is to some very dangerous people. We can send letters to her that she merely needs to drop in the post, or send her the wording for telegrams to be wired so she can just hand the paper to the clerk." Lucien hesitated. Another innocent person endangered. "Matthew, are you sure we should involve her?"

"As you say, as long as we keep her in the dark as to what she's involved in. Unlike Rose, Vera won't ask questions. But if they try to interrogate her, she'll give them hell."

"She sounds like an admirable woman. And what about you, Matthew? If you're caught in the middle of this, you could lose your job."

"Yet again," said Matthew, smiling grimly. "I don't have any illusions. I know I'm just a placeholder until they can get someone else ready for the position. Not a whole lot to lose. To be honest, I seem to owe more to the two of you than to the state of Victoria at this point, so whatever I can do to help, count me in."

Jean reached over to pat his hand. "Thank you, Matthew."

"Yes, indeed, thank you, my friend."

* * *

Through Vera, they made contact by telegram with Joy's colleague, Jean-Luc David, now the Hong Kong correspondent for _Le Monde._ He agreed to provide whatever help he could and so was asked to look in on Mei Lin and Li, to see if anything seemed off. Then they waited for his response, knowing it could well take a few days.

Lucien continued to recover, but his energy and strength were slow to return. His frustration grew by the day. He tried his best not to take it out on Jean or the others.

Jean could understand what he was going through, but still felt compelled to put him in his place when he became a bit too irritable. He would apologize for his behavior, then return to brooding.

And then, three days after Hannam's visit, they got an unexpected knock on the door. Lucien began to stand but Jean frowned and waved him back into his chair as she went to answer.

A young lady stood there with a small case and a very young child. Jean recognized her immediately from the photograph Lucien had shown her. "Li! Please, come in. Let me help you with that. Lucien…"

He could hardly believe it. His daughter had come to him. At least she and the baby were safe!

Li collapsed against his chest, exhausted from the journey and her own anxiety. Lucien just held her, stroking the back of her head and whispering soothingly while Jean gave the baby some water and put the kettle on. She knew the little one was nearly eight months old but he seemed small for his age. Then again, Li had her mother's slight build. Jean looked for traces of Lucien in the tiny boy. Perhaps in the strong jawline and lovely cheekbones, she thought.

She turned back to the others. Tears sprang to her eyes as she watched Lucien comfort his daughter. She knew how much he longed to be a father to her, if only she would let him.

He held her until she finally pulled back, then he kissed her cheek and spoke softly to her in Chinese.

"I am glad to be here too, Father," she told him.

He spoke again in her native tongue, but again she responded in English. "Thank you, Father. Yes, I am very tired, but this is your house. Yours and Jean's." She smiled shyly at Jean. "It would not be polite to her if I don't speak in her language."

She bowed her head to Jean, who approached her and held out a hand. "Welcome, Li. I'm so happy to finally meet you."

"And I am happy to meet you, Jean."

"Please, sit down and have some tea."

"Yes, please, my dear," said Lucien, pulling out a chair for her. "And perhaps this little chap and I can get acquainted."

With a smile, Jean handed over the baby as she went to fix the tea. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Lucien's eyes sparkled with joy while his grandson reached for his beard. She was somewhat surprised and pleased that for once he held his curiosity in check, waiting for Li to catch her breath and relax over her cuppa before he started asking questions.

"Please, sit down, Lucien," Jean urged. This was probably as long as he'd been on his feet since he'd been injured.

"Yes, my dear." He eased himself into a chair, holding the baby on his lap. His physical discomfort was still obvious.

"Father, are you not well?" asked Li, her eyes wide with concern.

Jean knew Lucien would not want his daughter to worry about him. "Your father was attacked while working with the police," she explained, "but he's on the mend."

"I'll be right as rain soon enough," he assured her.

While Jean poured and distributed the tea, Lucien engaged with the baby, keeping eye contact and tickling him under the chin. The little one was enchanted for a while, but then seemed to run out of energy all at once. His eyes began to close.

Li saw it and looked very sad. "I have no cot for him."

"Don't worry about that," Jean told her kindly. "We can put him down on Lucien's bed for now. That we way can hear him from the kitchen if he wakes up. Plenty of pillows to keep him from rolling off too. And his grandfather might just join him there in a little while." She raised an eyebrow at Lucien.

He gave her a grimace in return but did not object. He did feel a bit tired.

"I am sorry to be so much trouble. I didn't know where else to go," said Li.

"Nonsense," Lucien said firmly. "You're exactly where you're meant to be. We'll manage what we need for little Liang. Now, how about you, my dear one? Are you ready to talk about what happened to bring you to us?"

She nodded, but politely waited until Jean had returned from putting the baby down before she started. "Where do I begin?"

Lucien took her hands. "I haven't heard from you in such a long time. Can you tell me where Han is?"

She squeezed his hands tighter. "My husband could not leave China. The government has put him in prison."

"Oh, my goodness," said Jean. "Whatever for?"

"They say he is an intellectual. He is a teacher."

Lucien explained, "Ever since the Workers' Revolution in China, they've been trying to purge intellectuals: teachers, lawyers, even doctors. Anyone they fear might turn people against them. I had no idea they'd taken him, my dear. I am so sorry."

"I was afraid they would take me too," said Li. "Han and I had agreed that I must leave if anything happened to him. I was preparing to flee when I was told that your friend had arranged passage to Hong Kong. Thank you, Father."

"I'm so glad you got out in time," Lucien told her gently, vowing to see if there was anything further he could do to help Frank Carlyle's situation. "And when you reached Hong Kong, you were reunited with your mother, yes?"

"Yes," Li said. She hesitated. "As with you, Father, she was a stranger to me, but I wanted to know her again, for the time we could be together."

"I don't understand. The time you could be together?" asked Lucien. He glanced at Jean, who shrugged, as confused as he was.

"It was clear Mother would not be able to stay for long," Li explained. She turned her teacup slowly, staring down into its contents.

"Did she say why not? Where she was going?" asked Lucien

"I think… It seemed she did not want me to know." She looked close to tears. Her mother had returned but could not or would not be around long enough to really know her again.

Jean saw that the poor girl was near the end of her rope and stepped in. "Lucien, do you think we could continue this after Li has had some time to rest? She looks worn out."

"Yes, of course. I'm so sorry, my dear."

Jean took charge. "Why don't you finish your tea, Li, while I make up a spare room for you. Lucien, I can put her in Mattie's old room, I think."

"I am making so much work for you. I'm sorry, Jean."

"Rubbish. You're family. We're just glad you're here and safe now. You and little Liang. Now I won't be a minute."

When she had disappeared upstairs, Li asked quietly, "Am I really safe here, Father?"

Lucien knew he couldn't lie to her. Not after everything she'd already been through. This was too important. "As safe as anywhere else just now, my dear. And if that changes, I promise I'll get you both to somewhere safer, all right?"

"All right." She saw the sincerity and love in his eyes. Yes, she had come to the right place.

* * *

With Li and Liang staying in the house, Charlie and Rose had to be brought into the circle so that they knew the importance of keeping the visitors a secret for now.

"Good thing you're not well enough to see patients," Rose told Lucien over dinner that evening.

"Yes, so glad I was stabbed," Lucien said dryly.

"That's not…" Rose began, before catching the wink he threw her way.

"Lucien, stop teasing her," said Jean. "Despite the circumstances, Rose is right. It would be hard to keep their presence here a secret with patients coming in and out of the house. We can let it be known you've had a setback if we need more time."

"Aren't you going to need to buy things for the baby?" asked Charlie. "That'll cause questions."

"We're going to need a cot and some nappies, at least," said Jean. The old biddies in Ballarat would think it proved what they'd suspected for years unless she told them otherwise. "I'll say my granddaughter Amelia is coming for a visit. That should work."

Lucien's eyes sparkled as he smiled at her. Brilliant woman he was going to marry. He then turned to his daughter. "Li was going to tell us what happened after she met up with Mei Lin in Hong Kong. My dear?"

She was somewhat hesitant with so many more people to tell, but these were her father's friends. If he trusted them, so should she. "Mother was… I don't know the right word. Edgy?"

"On edge? Anxious, perhaps?" Lucien suggested.

"Yes, anxious."

"She didn't say why?" asked Matthew.

Li shook her head. "No. Then a few days later she went away. I haven't seen her in many weeks."

"But the letters," said Jean. "Lucien has been sending and receiving letters from her right along."

"And I have been sending letters here but I have not received anything from you, Father."

"Curious. I've received none of yours either. Jean, that last letter from Mei Lin. Is it still…"

Before he could finish speaking, Jean had retrieved the envelope in question.

"Yes, thank you, Jean. Now, my dear, this is the address where you were staying, yes?"

Li looked at the envelope. "Yes, Father. But she could not have sent that letter from there. She wasn't with us then."

Charlie spoke up. "You're sure it's her handwriting, Doc?"

"Reasonably sure, but of course there are ways of faking these things. Li, did she have any visitors before she disappeared?"

Li nodded. "The day before she left a man came to see her."

"Chinese?"

"No, Father. He spoke like you. Australian or British perhaps?"

"What did he look like?" asked Matthew.

"His hair was nearly your color, Father, perhaps a little lighter. Not so tall as you. His face was…sharp? I can see him but I don't have the words. I'm sorry."

"Quite all right, my dear," he assured her. "Maybe we can try something. I'm a little rusty, but let's see."

He made to get up, but Jean stopped him. "You stay right there. What do you need?"

"In Mother's studio. A drawing pad and charcoal. On the easel in there."

"I'll get it," said Charlie.

Matthew frowned. "I didn't know you could draw."

"Yes, well, not really. My mother taught me a very long time ago. After the war, it was recommended as therapy," he explained.

Jean winced, recalling when she'd come across his gruesome drawings of the POW camp.

"I'm not really very good, but maybe it will help."

Materials in hand, he drew the basic outline of a face then altered it at Li's direction. As the features became clearer, Jean and Charlie spoke at the same time.

"Isn't that Mr. Sullivan?"

"That looks like Inspector Sullivan."

"Yes, it does look like him," Lucien agreed.

Li's eyes widened. "I remember. Mother called him Colonel Sullivan."

"Who is this Sullivan?" Matthew asked.

"Detective Inspector Llewellyn Sullivan. Army Inspector General's office, or at least he was. Brought in to oversee the investigation into Derek Alderton's murder. Which, incidentally, he perpetrated himself," Lucien explained.

"Handy, that," Matthew observed.

"But he died. Shot by Sergeant Hannam right in front of you," Charlie insisted.

"A brother?" Jean suggested. "Looking for revenge?"

Lucien was silent, lost in thought.

"What?" said Matthew. He knew that look all too well.

"I don't think it's a brother. I think it's him."

"But how? Didn't you check him yourself for a pulse?" Charlie pointed out.

"They faked it. There are ways."

"Ways to stop your pulse?" asked Rose.

"Ways to make it appear that's it's stopped. Cover the pulse point with a layer of gel, then cover that with rubber textured to feel like skin. They would have had to apply it to both sides of the neck and to his wrists, not knowing where I'd check. This was carefully planned."

"What about the bullets and the blood?" asked Charlie.

"Blanks in the gun, packets of simulated blood to stain his shirtfront. Like they use in the cinema."

"Someone went to an awful lot of trouble," Matthew observed.

"All the earmarks of Army Intelligence. And they took the body away immediately, so we wouldn't perform an autopsy ourselves."

"If Sergeant Hannam is supposed to have killed him, he must have been in on it," Jean pointed out. "Maybe that's what he was really apologizing for."

"Yes, and perhaps he found out something subsequently that made him change his mind about the whole operation. Made him regret his part in carrying it out."

"If that's the case, maybe he wanted to make sure you would investigate it yourself, and find whatever it is that made him change his mind," said Jean.

"I think our Sergeant Hannam is an honorable man caught up in some bad business. Much like why I left the service when I did."

"Can you talk to him, find out what he knows?" asked Rose.

"Sergeant Hannam won't be found unless he wants to be. And I would suggest he doesn't want to be. Not unless we get a whole lot closer to learnng what's really going on."

"Then we'd better get busy," said Jean. At least with Li and the baby here, it should be easier to keep Lucien from wanting to go abroad. Which begged the question, "Li, what made you leave Hong Kong to come here? Why now? Did something happen?"

"I became worried after Mother disappeared and I heard nothing from you, Father. Then Mr. David came to see me and told me you were also worried. I became very concerned. I was making plans to leave when Mr. David came back and said I was being watched and I should get out right away. He gave me airplane tickets to come here, so I left. I tried to telephone him from the airport to thank him but there was no answer."

Lucien's fists were clenched. Jean's inquiry had had the opposite effect. "I should go to Hong Kong."

"So you can disappear too?" Jean's eyebrows were nearly up to her hairline.

"Not bloody likely, Blake," said Matthew.

"Lucien, we agreed. You're in no condition," Jean insisted.

"It doesn't look like there's anyone left there anyway that could help," Charlie pointed out.

Lucien held up his hands in surrender. "All right, then. Matthew, would you please see if your contact can still reach M. David?" He, Jean and Matthew had agreed not to tell anyone else of Vera's involvement.

"What about Mei Lin?" asked Jean. "Is there any way we can check on her?"

Lucien feared the worst, but didn't want to come right out and tell Li her mother might have been killed. "I'm going to write to her again. Include some details she would know are wrong but no one else would know about."

Charlie nodded. "If she doesn't correct you, then it isn't _her_ sending the letters."

"Exactly."

"Anyone else in Hong Kong we might be able to use?" asked Matthew. "Don't you have contacts everywhere, Lucien?"

"Yes, well, most of those 'contacts' are connected to the very people we're investigating," Lucien pointed out.

"What about Mr. Kim?" asked Jean. "The investigator you were using to search for Li and Mei Lin. I know he was rather useless…"

"Maybe too useless. I've wondered since then if he was part of Derek's plot to use Mei Lin. Perhaps I wasn't supposed to find her until Derek had the pieces in place. Either way, I suppose if I contact him I might learn something of use to us. I'll call him in the morning."

"You remember your calls are being monitored," Charlie reminded him.

"Yes. I'll tell him I need to know if Mei Lin is seeing another man. For the divorce. Ask him to check up for me."

Jean smiled grimly, then stood up. Lucien was looking more worn out by the minute. "If there's nothing more, I'm going to clean up here, then call it a night. Right, Lucien?" She arched an eyebrow.

"It has been rather an eventful day," he admitted, feeling the weariness of it all.

"You go," said Charlie. "Rose and I can do the washing up."

"Thank you, Charlie," said Jean. "Li, the baby should be fine with you for tonight. We've pushed the bed up against the wall so he can't roll off. I'll see to arranging a cot for him first thing tomorrow."

"Thank you, Jean. You've all been most kind to me."

"Nonsense. You're family."

Lucien kissed her gently on the cheek. No matter the circumstances, he was grateful that she had come to him. "Sleep well, my darling. You're safe here."


	2. Chapter 2

Jean lay awake, worrying. As happy as Lucien was to have Li and the baby here where he could watch over them, she knew he would become frustrated if the investigation did not progress as quickly as he wished. And a frustrated Lucien was never easy to handle. He was apt to do something rash, like when he'd gone to Vernon Armstrong's workshop so late and alone. She thought she had lost him then and wasn't sure she could go through that again.

She tried to think of what physical evidence they had, something he could work on while they waited for answers. Mei Lin's letters, perhaps? Could she suggest he examine the handwriting, try to spot any forgery?

She could also make sure he spent time bonding with Li and Liang. That shouldn't be too difficult at least. He needed to be shown just how important his life was to any number of people now. Too important to risk on a journey of questionable value anyway.

"I'll confiscate his passport, if that's what it takes," she muttered, rolling over and punching her pillow into a more comfortable shape. Loving Lucien was easy, she decided. Putting up with him, well, that was sometimes another matter entirely.

* * *

He called the private investigator early the next morning, with Jean sitting across the desk from him in his study. "Mister Kim? Doctor Lucien Blake… Yes, it has been a while. As you'll recall, I was able to locate my wife and our daughter through other channels… Yes, I understand you tried your best."

He rolled his eyes while Jean stifled a snort of disgust.

"You see, I need your help again. I've been expecting Mei Lin to contact me to discuss our impending divorce but I haven't heard from her. I wondered if you could go around there, and check up on her. I'm especially interested to know if there's another man involved, for the divorce you see… You can? Splendid…" He gave him the address. "Yes, of course, same rates. I'll send a check as soon as I receive your invoice. Thank you, Mr. Kim. I look forward to hearing from you. You have the telephone number here, yes? Until then."

He turned to Jean. "Somehow I feel like I need to wash my hands after speaking with that man."

Jean laughed grimly. "Me, too, and I didn't even speak with him. Oily, that one."

"Indeed. Let's hope he doesn't take too long getting back to me."

"If there's a pound or two to be made off you, I think he'll do it quickly," said Jean. "In any event, while we're waiting, I think I'll pop off to the shops and you can spend some time with your family."

He smiled at her words, his family, then stood and kissed her forehead. "Soon enough you'll be my family too, Jean."

She returned his smile. Right. I'm off. And I believe I hear a certain young man requesting attention."

* * *

Using the reason she had prepared, Jean purchased a cot, high chair, baby bottles, nappies and some clothes for the little one. (Charlie had volunteered to drive the car over later to pick up the furniture.) The next stop was the butcher's, at which point Jean realized she had no idea what Li might like to eat. She supposed she would stick with her usual order for now, and make additional purchases as necessary.

As she was walking toward the greengrocer's, she suddenly realized a car was following her route. She had spotted it out of the corner of her eye. When she casually turned, as though something in a shop window across the way had caught her attention, she was relieved to see it was a police car with Ned Simmons behind the wheel.

The young man pulled up beside her and rolled down the window. "Good morning, Mrs. Beazley."

"Hello, Ned. Is there something I can do for you?"

"No, thank you, ma'am. Just wondering how the doc is doing. Feeling better is he?"

Thinking quickly, she decided it was as good a time as any to plant the seeds of their cover story, should it be needed to explain Lucien's absence. "A bit, yes. He's still in quite a lot of pain though, so it will be a while before he's ready to return to work."

"Sorry to hear that. Please give him my best."

"I'll do that, Ned. Thank you for asking."

The encounter was innocent, but it set Jean to wondering if the house was being watched along with its inhabitants.

They should make sure Li and the baby stayed away from the windows. The sun room and garden would have to be off limits too. And maybe Charlie could have a look around outside, just to be safe.

LLL

The awaited return call from Mr. Kim came moments before Jean returned. Lucien was pacing in the lounge, railing about it when she walked in the door.

"They're both fine, he says, the bloody fraud. They send their regards, he says. And Mei Lin's neighbors insisted to him there have been no male visitors." He threw up his hands.

"Is he just a fraud then or something else?" Jean wondered.

"This makes it pretty clear. He was a plant all along. I was never supposed to find Mei Lin. At least not until Derek's plot was ready to hatch. And that means…"

He sat down and held his head in his hands.

"That means what? Lucien?"

"Mei Lin was in on it. She was an intelligence operative all along. Why else would she have met with Sullivan after he supposedly tried to kill her? And probably even before the war. It explains how she and Li evaded the Japanese when the boat they were on was seized. The Army had already taken them off and away to safety."

"Surely she wouldn't do that to you, keep you worrying about her all those years. Not intentionally. And what about LI?"

"Mei Lin may have been told I was dead. And I suspect Li was their insurance policy, to keep Mei Lin in line. But she was a liability too, so they had to get her away, somewhere they could be sure Mei Lin couldn't find her."

"Oh, Lucien, how cruel to all three of you." She put her arms around him. "So many wasted years."

He hugged her back, ever thankful he had her in his life.

* * *

"What I don't understand is why now?" said Rose, when the others had been filled in on the latest information. "Seventeen, eighteen years, and suddenly this Major Alderton shows up out of the blue, wanting you to return to the service?"

"Rose is right," said Charlie. "I mean, I'm sure they valued your work, Doc, but it seems like an awful lot to go through just to get you back."

"Lucien, what do you think they really want from you?" asked Jean.

He had the baby on his lap, trying to interest him in some pureed peas but Liang was having none of it. Jean found it amusing, and terribly touching.

Lucien shook his head at Jean's question. "I have absolutely no idea why now."

"Were you working on anything in particular when you left the service?" Rose asked. "You said you decided it was a bad business so there must have been something."

"There were a number of projects," he said, trying to recall specifics.

Matthew spoke up. "Major Alderton never told you why he wanted you to come back?"

"Some rubbish about being the only way to achieve peace in Southeast Asia. Even Sergeant Hannam said it was rubbish."

"But if Hannam went along with it, surely it had some merit," Jean pointed out. She thought for a moment, while standing up to take the baby from Lucien. Neither he nor Liang would be getting much to eat at this rate. "Weren't Major Alderton and Sergeant Hannam both involved in radiation testing the first time Alderton approached you? Could that have anything to do with it?"

Lucien leaned back, folding his arms and thinking, as all eyes watched.

"One of the last projects I was assigned to was a medical simulation of fallout patterns and radius," he said slowly. Then held up his hands in surrender as he saw Jean's horrified reaction. "I found the whole notion so abhorrent I recommended the project be shut down. When they wouldn't do it, I asked to be reassigned. And I left the service shortly thereafter."

"Could it be connected?" asked Jean.

"I don't know, I…" He stopped, his mouth falling open before his jaw clenched. When he spoke again, his voice was low, almost growling. "Someone is considering using an atomic bomb in Southeast Asia. As a deterrent maybe? Derek's peace plan, no doubt."

They all spoke at once, angry and aghast, all except Li who looked ready to cry. She watched Lucien as his mind whirled over all the pieces they knew so far.

When it was quiet once more, he explained what he thought had happened. "They needed me back to control me, to keep me quiet. Derek was killed by Sullivan because it became clear he couldn't coerce me into returning. That made him a risk, since he was considered unstable."

Li spoke very quietly. "And Mother?"

Lucien reached for her, tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, little one. I'm afraid her fate may have been sealed as soon as Sullivan found her." He moved to put his arms around her, holding her while she wept for the mother she'd regained and lost in such a short time.

Seeing she needed comfort, Jean brought the baby to her. Li held him tightly to her breast.

"I think I need to be alone with my child," she said.

"Yes, of course, my dear. You'll let me know if I can do anything to help?"

"Thank you, Father. I will." She went slowly up the stairs.

When she was gone, they all offered condolences to Lucien, who only clenched his jaw and nodded his thanks. When they finally returned to the discussion it was in lowered tones. No one could blame him for distracted, as he strained to listen for any sounds from the floor above.

"Who would even consider such a thing as using an atomic bomb? And why?" Jean demanded.

"Derek didn't come straight out with it, but I understood that the testing was being done by the Yanks."

"Why would the Yanks want to bomb Southeast Asia?" asked Charlie.

"As I understand it, they're getting more and more involved in what's happening in Vietnam," said Lucien. "And after the mess that was Korea, they don't want to get mired down there."

He paused, his focus returning as he leaned forward to impress on them the importance of what he was saying. "If anyone in Intelligence suspects that we're onto this, all of our lives are in danger, too. All of us."

"We can't just keep it to ourselves. What can we do?" asked Jean.

"What do we do with the knowledge, and what do we do to protect ourselves?" Matthew clarified. "By the way, that contact of mine wanted me to tell you there's been no word from Mr. David since he helped Li get out."

"Let's hope he got out at the same time," said Lucien. "As to what we can do to protect ourselves, we need some insurance."

"Such as?" asked Rose.

"The information we have. The last thing they want is for it to be made public. So we send it, sealed, to people we trust, and ask them to release it to the newspapers if anything happens to us."

"That's all well and good, but it won't help much if we're already dead," Jean pointed out.

"No, but if the authorities know it will be released, they will have a vested interest in seeing that nothing happens to us. And furthermore, we can threaten to release it unless the whole plan is abandoned."

"How do we let them know all this?" asked Rose. "I mean, I could write an article, but I think that would defeat the whole purpose."

"Indeed," said Lucien. "First, we get the letters sent out. Through your contact, I think, Matthew. Send them all to the contact in a single package and ask that they be posted, yes?"

Matthew nodded.

"As for letting the authorities know, you can leave that to me."

* * *

Each of them wrote letters to people they trusted completely to keep their confidence. The envelopes were addressed and postage affixed, then forwarded to Vera in a bundle, with birthday wishes written on the outside to help allay suspicion. In the meantime they received a letter supposedly from Mei Lin. To Lucien's sorrow, there was no mention of his intentional mistakes. Clearly she had not written the missive.

Finally, when Mattie called from London to confirm she had received Jean's latest letter, it was time for the next step. Knowing that there would be monitors listening in, Lucien called Edward Tyneman at the Courier and asked to meet him the next day with regard to some information he had.

That evening, the others were all out of the house, keeping to their normal routines. Only Lucien, Jean, Li and little Liang were there in the lounge. Lucien lay on the floor with the baby sitting beside him, as they took turns squeezing squeak toys, both laughing at the sounds.

Jean and Li watched them fondly.

"Your father is so happy to have you here," Jean said softly. "He loves spending time with both of you." She nodded toward the giggling baby. "He's a beautiful child."

Li smiled. Seeing her father like this brought back very dim memories of him playing with her in much the same way. Even just thinking about it, she could feel the love surrounding her. Such wonderful memories. Memories she'd forgotten, or repressed to protect herself against the grief of losing him. If nothing else, this trip was reminding her how much she'd been cherished so long ago. Surely this man would never have abandoned her by choice. "Thank you, Jean. "We are lucky to have Father and you. It is good for Liang to know he has people who love him."

"His name, Liang, it's lovely. Does it mean something in particular?"

Again Li smiled. "It means 'light', she said, and watched Jean figure it out.

"And Lucien means 'bringer of light'. Did you…?"

Li nodded. "We wanted our child to become a man of honor," she explained. "Han's father is not a good man. Even though I could not remember much about my childhood, I knew my father was an honorable man."

"Have you told Lucien this?" asked Jean softly.

Again Li nodded. "He seemed very happy. For a moment I thought he would cry."

"That's your father," said Jean, tearing up herself. "Thank you, Li, for telling me." She looked down at Lucien, who flashed her that brilliant smile she loved so much. It was wonderful to see him so happy, no matter what came next.

* * *

Jean was terrified as he prepared to leave for the meeting at the Courier, even though Lucien assured her that Matthew and Charlie would be covering him.

"If they decide to shoot you in the middle of the street, what are Matthew and Charlie going to do?" she demanded, nervously running her hands up and down his lapels. "Arresting the one who killed you won't be much consolation."

He put a finger to her lips. "They won't shoot me down in the street. Too much attention is not what they want," he said softly. "What they do want is to know how much I know. And who else might know the same things. They need me in one piece to tell them that."

She did not look entirely convinced, but pulled him in for a long kiss, needing to feel him alive and in front of her.

"You'd better come back to me in one piece," she warned.

"Understood. This shouldn't take very long." He looked longingly into her eyes, conveying just how much he loved her. "Right then. See you in a bit."

Another quick peck and he was out the door.

LLL

He parked down the street from the Courier offices. Before getting out, he looked at the spots they had agreed upon and made sure Matthew and Charlie were in place. He had been in more danger many times in his life, but this time his heart was pounding, almost painfully. This time he had much to live for. Jean, Li and little Liang were waiting for him at home.

He sat for a moment, willing his hands not to shake. He had to be in full control if this was going to work.

He reviewed it all in his mind several times until he felt confident in the plan, then finally climbed out of the car, grunting at the flash of pain from his ribs. He closed the car door and began walking slowly toward the newspaper office. He stopped to greet old Mr. Hopkins, asking after his gout, and paused again to chat with Mrs. Brewer and her two children. It had been agreed that he needed to be seen on his way into the building so it would be problematic if he didn't leave it.

Reaching the entrance, he took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and stepped inside the Courier building.

There was no one in sight that he recognized. A strange man with a military haircut sat at Rose's desk, and Edward's desk was empty. Much as Lucien had expected. So far no surprises.

Another clean-cut young man stepped up to him as he looked around. "This way, sir. Please."

"Of course," said Lucien. He continued to take stock of his surroundings, just in case he had to fight his way out.

They approached an enclosed room, used to interview witnesses for news articles, Lucien guessed. The young man opened the door and stepped aside for Lucien to enter.

"Thank you," he murmured. Behind the desk in the room, just as he expected, sat Robert Hannam.

He smiled at the the other man. "Sergeant Hannam. Or should I say, Colonel Hannam?"

"Major, actually," Hannam admitted.

As Lucien stepped inside he was too slow to notice the other man to the side of the door. Too slow to block the punch that caught him squarely over the wound in his chest. The pain was overwhelming; he gasped for breath, doubled over, fighting not to black out.

When he could finally raise his head, he locked eyes with Hannam. "That's not a smart idea, Major," he said coolly. "If anything happens to me, it all goes public. All of it."

The other man glanced at Hannam, who motioned for him to leave them alone. He exited, closing the door behind him.

Hannam indicated the chair in front of him, and Lucien lowered himself into it, trying to look composed despite the fact he felt nauseous and light-headed.

"What exactly is 'all of it'?" asked Hannam.

Lucien made the other man wait until his breathing was under control. "Do I have to spell it out? You're still working with the Americans on atomic testing, only now there's a specific plan, isn't there? My guess is Vietnam."

He watched Hannam closely for any reaction. Did his eyes tighten, just a bit? He hadn't denied anything, just motioned for Lucien to continue.

"What's the assessment? How many would be killed? Two hundred thousand? Half a million? More?"

"A lot," Hannam admitted.

"And you don't have a problem with that?" Lucien said angrily.

"It doesn't matter if I have a problem with it," Hannam said. "I have orders."

"To hell with your orders! You serve the country of Australia. That's where your loyalty should be. How does it help Australia to be associated with this kind of horror? We'll never live it down. And we aren't even at war!"

Hannam just continued to look squarely at him.

"You don't want it either," Lucien said slowly, analyzing it all on the fly. "That's why you warned me. You wanted me to figure it out."

Hannam neither confirmed nor denied it. "You said you have safeguards in place."

All right, Lucien decided. They could play it Hannam's way for now. "About a dozen people, several different countries, all with letters detailing the whole scheme, including a list of those who've already been killed for knowing too much about it. If anything happens to me or anyone near to me, the letters will be forwarded to major newspapers around the world."

Hannam nodded. "Nicely done."

"Thank you," said Lucien. But he needed to direct the conversation back to the crux of the matter. "Vietnam is a large country. Is there a specific target in mind?"

He watched Hannam debate with himself before responding. "Communist leader, Ho Chi Minh."

"But why an atomic bomb? For one man? Surely he could be taken out by more conventional means."

"They've tried," Hannam admitted. "He stays on the move, and the people around him are too loyal to be compromised."

"And this man is worth the deaths of perhaps millions, when you add up the long-term radiation deaths it will cause? You can't think that's right, Major. You just can't," he insisted.

"There's opposition to the plan" Hannam admitted. "A lot of it. The risk of making it public might be enough to get it halted."

"Well, then, you can let it be known that if I get the least hint that the scheme is going forward, the whole world will know before it can be carried out. You have my word on that."

This time Hannam managed a half-smile. "I'll pass that along, sir." He stood up and pointed toward Lucien's chest, where he was still holding a hand over the wound. "Get some medical attention, Major. I'll be in touch."

"One last thing, before you leave. Please. My wife, Mei Lin…"

"Sorry, sir. She's gone. An overzealous operative was afraid she planned to tell you too much. I'm betting you can guess who that operative was."

Lucien nodded. "Llewellyn Sullivan."

Hannam touched a finger to his nose, then was out the door.

Lucien looked down to where Hannam had pointed at him. A spot of blood had seeped through his waistcoat. Despite that, he waited, gathering the strength to stand up.

By the time he managed to get to his feet and stumble to the door of the interview room, the newspaper employees were trickling back into their office. Rose was the first to spot him. She ran forward and slipped his arm over her shoulder to keep him upright.

"Lucien?" she gasped, seeing the blood.

"I'm all right, and it's over, I think," he managed.

"Good," she said. "But I think Jean just might kill you."

* * *

It was a week before he reached the point where she would allow him out of bed again for brief spells. The single blow to his chest had been enough to undo almost all the healing he'd done previously. Despite enjoying the opportunity to spend time with Li and the baby, he despaired at ever getting his strength back.

"Serves you right," said Jean when she had let him come to the kitchen table for tea. "You might remember I told you last time I'd finish you off if you ever did it again. But I suppose, since it saved millions of lives, I'll let you off just this once."

He grinned at her, and she melted, just as she always did. Just as he knew she would.

"How ever can I make it up to you?"

She sniffed, "I'm sure I'll think of something."

She leaned over to kiss him. And the bloody telephone rang.

"Hold that thought," she told him, patting his cheek before walking over to answer the call. "Doctor Blake's residence… May I tell him who's calling?" She scowled and held out the receiver for Lucien, shrugging at his raised eyebrow.

He wasn't pleased that the caller had apparently been rude to Jean. "Yes," he barked, but upon hearing the caller's voice, he understood.

"This line is no longer being monitored," Hannam told him."You are your family and friends will be left alone."

"I have your word on that, Major?"

"You have Prime Minister Menzies' word on it. Also I'm to assure you that although Australia will continue to work with the U.S. military in Southeast Asia, the nuclear options are off the table."

"And you're confident that will actually be the case?"

"He knows that if this leaks out, the Australian people won't be pleased. And he needs the support of the voters to stay in office," Hannam pointed out. "I'm also supposed to remind you that in return you have to guarantee that word will not get out. If it does, they'll know who's responsible."

"You have my word of honor. It won't be made public unless I have reason to suspect the government has broken their word."

"Understood." And the connection was abruptly terminated, "The man's telephone etiquette leaves something to be desired," Lucien muttered.

"So this means it's finally over?" asked Jean.

"Yes, love, it's over. I feel like I can finally exhale."

"Just don't rupture your stitches again," Jean warned with a mock scowl at him.

"Come here," he invited, opening his arms to her.

When they were holding each other, she murmured, "Maybe we should move away."

"What? Leave Ballarat?" Lucien pulled back to look at her in surprise.

"Leave Australia," she corrected. "I never thought my country would even consider being involved in such things!"

He smiled grimly, well aware of how many similar things Australia (and many other countries) had been involved in. "Jean, this is our home," he reminded her. "The country we all risked our lives for."

"I suppose…"

"Besides, who knows what else they'd get up to without us here to keep an eye on them, eh?"

"Yes, I suppose you're right." She kissed his cheek and stepped back. "Besides, the Begonia Festival is coming up, and I plan to win this year!"

"That's my girl. And I think something else might be coming up as well." He reached down to rub his fingers over her engagement ring.

He and Li had done their grieving for Mei Lin - Li for the mother she had known all too briefly, Lucien for the wife he'd spent half his adult life searching for. With the danger now removed Li and Liang would be returning home to Hong Kong shortly, now that the danger was past. They hoped Han would be able to join them soon.

Jean glanced down at where their hands were joined. "Yes, we need to arrange the wedding quickly, before Li leaves," she agreed. "It's been so lovely having them here, hasn't it? But we definitely need to make plans. Nothing fancy for us, I think. Just the people we love."

"Jean, we can do whatever you'd like," he said. He lifted her hand to kiss the knuckle beside her ring. "You know, my dear, we can have a church wedding now, if that's what you want. There's nothing stopping it."

She took a deep breath. It was so hard to think they would benefit from Mei Lin's death. "Lucien, you know I never would have wanted it to happen this way."

"No, of course not." His eyes went soft and he smiled gently at her. "But whatever else Mei Lin might have been, you'll admit she genuinely wanted us to be together."

"And together we will be," Jean affirmed. "For better or for worse."

He grinned. "My dear Jean, you are definitely the 'better' in that deal."


End file.
